Mechanized equipment used in outdoor applications such as golf courses, agriculture, construction, commercial landscaping and recreation environments, such as municipal parks, is specialized and in many cases unique depending on the intended field of use. Tractors, reel mowers and rotary mowers (collectively “mowers”), aerators, utility vehicles (a modified golf cart), combines, mechanized construction equipment such as bulldozers and backhoes, are some of the specialized equipment used in outdoor applications (as used herein, “mechanized outdoor application vehicles” does not include automobiles, trucks and the like). Manufacturers for such equipment usually customize their products to accommodate a specific use, with each item of equipment having its own unique service and preventative maintenance requirements. Mechanized outdoor application vehicles are subject to harsh operating conditions and these operating conditions contribute to their need for specialization and customization. For example, mechanized outdoor application vehicles are routinely subjected to environmental variables such as extreme heat and cold, moisture, chemicals and solvents, various foreign matter (e.g., dirt, mud, grass and other vegetation, a variety of crops, rock and gravel, etc.), extreme vibration, and rough terrain. These variables require that virtually all components of a mechanized outdoor application vehicle be “ruggedized” for durability in order to withstand such operating conditions and variables. For this reason, mechanized outdoor application vehicles do not usually include microcontrollers and microprocessors to diagnose parameters that trigger scheduled maintenance requirements such as those found in most present day automobiles. Mechanized outdoor application vehicles used in commercial outdoor applications are considered mission critical. Therefore, when such mechanized equipment encounters unscheduled downtime, this directly and negatively affects the commercial outdoor application. A primary cause of equipment failure leading to unscheduled downtime is the delay or omission of scheduled maintenance. Relevant and timely equipment maintenance helps prevent unscheduled downtime. However, since mechanized outdoor application vehicles do not provide for an integrated system to alert of currently required scheduled maintenance requirements and related required resources, this equipment is virtually never serviced with scheduled maintenance and related required resources at the actual time due. Therefore, equipment is normally serviced either prematurely or belatedly. Many scheduled maintenance requirements for mechanized equipment used in outdoor applications requires various resources such as replacement parts and supplies to complete the scheduled maintenance requirements. In the event such resources (inventory, parts, supplies) are not on-hand when they are needed to complete scheduled maintenance requirements, the required scheduled maintenance is either delayed or the equipment item requiring replacement parts not currently on-hand remains idle until said replacement parts are ordered and received, which results in unscheduled downtime.
Mechanized outdoor application vehicles are normally maintained and repaired onsite. Most on-site maintenance and repair service operations for outdoor applications lack the level of monitoring, scheduling, referencing and record-keeping capabilities found in automotive and other commercial maintenance and repair operations. Further, many on-site maintenance and repair personnel for outdoor applications lack the level of technical expertise found in automotive and other commercial maintenance and repair operations. To assist maintenance personnel, manufacturers of mechanized equipment for use in outdoor applications specify and publish scheduled maintenance requirements and required OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) resources such as parts for each equipment item they manufacture. Although certain manufactured equipment items share common scheduled maintenance requirements and/or resources, manufacturers generally specify and publish scheduled maintenance requirements and required resources for each and every item they manufacture, based upon model, and potentially, the year of manufacture. Consequently, there exist a vast array of published scheduled maintenance requirements and required resources for all makes and models of mechanized equipment for use in outdoor applications.
Manufacturers of mechanized outdoor application vehicles primarily sell their products to end use customers via an established network of value added distributors. These value added distributors normally provide end use customers with product sales, product service and product support (as an example product support includes warranty related service and support). The level of product sales, service, and support such distributors provide their customers could be enhanced if they had better access to relevant and updated customer and customer product data (e.g., operational data regarding typical usage and current status of customer products).
Additionally, there exists a variety of non-OEM services, inventory, supplies, and parts provided by organizations that target the customers of manufacturers and value added distributors for mechanized equipment used in outdoor applications that directly compete with the OEM services. Therefore, any system that could be used by manufacturers and distributors to enhance the level of service provided to their customers would be helpful to better compete against organizations attempting to sell non-OEM services, inventory, supplies, and parts to said customers.